Brescello

Brescello
Country	Italy
region	Emilia-Romagna
province	Reggio Emilia (RE)
Local name	Bresèl / Barsèl
Coordinates	44 ° 54 ' N , 10 ° 31' E Coordinates: 44 ° 54 '0 " N , 10 ° 31' 0" E
height	24 m slm
surface	24 km²
Residents	5,636 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	235 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	42041
prefix	0522
ISTAT number	035006
Popular name	Brescellesi
Website	Brescello

Brescello ( Italian [breʃˈʃɛllo] ) is a village with 5636 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the province of Reggio Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region .

It is located on the banks of the Po , roughly in the middle of the triangle bounded by the cities of Parma , Modena and Mantua . The place achieved worldwide fame as the setting for the five stories about Don Camillo and Peppone filmed between 1951 and 1965, based on the novels by Giovannino Guareschi . The location was chosen by the director against the wishes of Guareschi, who would have preferred his birthplace Fontanelle (di Roccabianca ).

history

The first established settlers were Cimbrian Gauls , who gave their settlement the name (Romanised) Brixellum . However, individual archaeological finds go back to prehistory. Around 200 BC The place was conquered by the Romans and incorporated into the empire as a colony . As a result, the city developed into a flourishing trade and economic center, but it was also of strategic importance, as it was from here that traffic on the Po could be monitored. In the Year of the Four Emperors 69th had n. Chr Otho in Brixellum his headquarters and committed there suicide . The decline of the late Roman Empire in the west also led to the decline of Brixellum until it became a bishopric in 389. Towards the end of the 6th century, the city was razed to the ground by devastating floods and ceased to exist for more than 500 years.

In the 12th century, Brescello was rebuilt and was subsequently dependent on Parma until Spanish troops destroyed the city again in 1704. What was left of the once prosperous city joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, along with other cities in Reggio nell'Emilia .

In 1714 a gold treasure with around 80,000 gold coins from the time of the Roman Republic was found in Brescello . Most of the coins were melted down by the rulers of Modena to mint ducats . The Brescello gold treasure is considered the largest known ancient gold coin find.

Personalities

Brescello is the birthplace of the philosopher and humanist Mario Nizolio (1498–1576) and the librarian Antonio Panizzi (1797–1879), who ran the library of the British Museum from 1856 to 1867 .

tourism

Brescello is visited by around 50,000 tourists annually. There is a "Museo de Peppone e Don Camillo". In the square between the church and the town hall there are bronze statues of the two figures as well as a Hercules statue by Jacopo Sansovino from 1553.